126 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Aprtl 
ta 
as did No. 1, &c., till gathered. And now for the 
result. 
No. 1 shelled, measured 1 bushel 1 gallon 2 qts. and 
pts.. and weighed l.\\ pounds. 
No. 2—1 bush. 1 gal. 2 qts. and 1 pt., and weighed 
70£ pounds. 
No. 3—1 bush, and half pint—weighed 55 lbs. 
The fodder from No. 3, &c., was carefully cured 
without being wet, and kept to itself, and when the corn 
was measured and weighed, it was also weighed. Its 
weight was 18 lbs., which, added to the weight of the 
corn from which it was taken, made 73 lbs. But 2^ 
lbs. more than the corn of No. 1, and 3| more than that 
of No. 2. No. 1 and 2 were thought not to be quite as 
dry on shelling, as No. 3; they were consequently well 
sunned before the above measures and weights were 
taken; No. 3 was not sunned. Upon the whole, the 
experiment proves conclusively to my mind, what I be¬ 
fore believed, that in pulling the fodder, we deprive our 
corn of the weight, or very nearly so, of the fodder ta¬ 
ken. Geo. Seaborn. Pendleton, S. C., Feb . 21, 1847. 
Poudrette. —In the February number of the Culti¬ 
vator, I notice a communication signed u Pennepack,’’ 
referring to an experiment I made with poudrette on 
corn, the result being very different from what he ex¬ 
pected. I can say I was disappointed in the result. I 
mentioned in that statement, that the poudrette I re¬ 
ceived was very different from what was shown in the 
office. Which was the best I could not say. That 
poudrette is a very good manure I have no doubt, but 
from some cause, that did not prove very profitable to me. 
I could perceive some difference in the fore part of the 
season, in the color of that on which the poudrette 
was used; it was of a darker green, but the size was 
very little if any larger. J. Sherman. Milton, Feb. 
2, 1847. . 
“ That which ye Sow shall ye also Reap.”—I 
have been a reader of the Cultivator for years, and have 
been pleased with the discussion on the subject of wheat 
turning to chess. I sowed a piece of new land to win¬ 
ter wheat, a few years ago. I purchased some clean 
seed wheat, but could not find enough that was clean, 
and was told that it would make,no difference, for wheat 
would turn to chess if winter-killed. Necessity obliged 
me to try the experiment. I bought two bushels of 
wheat with some chess in it, and one bushel with twice 
as much as there was in the two bushels. I sowed the 
clean wheat on one side of the piece; next I sowed the 
two bushels, and next to that I sowed the one bushel. 
Land all the same quality except a few low places run¬ 
ning crosswise of the field. The wheat was sowed 
lengthwise. It winter-killed in the low places. There 
was not one chess head to be found where the clean 
wheat was sown; but where the two bushels were sown, 
there was twice as much chess as I expected, and where 
the last bushel was sown, I believe it was one-eighth 
chess. There was ten times as much chess in the low 
places as anywhere else. I have never sown any 
chess since; neither have I raised any. I have heard 
some men say that they have known barley turn to oats, 
by being eat off by cattle when it was heading out. I 
think the last as true as the first. N. Robinson, Jr. 
Stow, Ft., March 1, 1847. 
Corn Fodder. —Last year I gave you a short ac¬ 
count of my sowed corn crop. In the winters of 45, ’6, 
it was my principal dependance for fodder. On the pro¬ 
duce of two acres, I saved a horse, a yoke of oxen, 
three cows, and three young cattle, which else would 
have been nearly sacrificed, as were my neighbors’ cat¬ 
tle. The drouth had so cut off the hay, that people 
offered one-half their stock to get the other half winter¬ 
ed, and no one would take them at that. 
I was so well pleased with my experiment, that I 
determined to “ try again.” So this year I sowed the 
same amount of land again, at the rate of two and a 
half bushels of seed to the acre,broadcast. Iliad a fair 
yield, and the fodder proves equally as good as last year; 
and though I do not need it as last year, yet it is pre¬ 
ferred by all my cattle to the best of hay. They will 
leave hay untouched when the corn fodder is before 
them, quite as much as they will leave straw when that 
and hay are both offered them at a time. They will eat 
up all the fodder clean, seeming to prefer the stalks 
(which are full of saccharine matter,) to the leaves. 
And when I feed with corn fodder, I use no grain, 
which I am obliged to do when I feed hay.. On this 
account this food is admirable for calves, and young 
cattle. I am keeping some calves on this alone, with¬ 
out a particle of grain, and they are in fine order. Horses 
do not like it as well as hay. Cattle and sheep do 
much better. 
On the ground of economy, it is altogether better 
than any other feed I have tried. It requires very little 
labor, except the harvesting, (which is a heavy job,) and 
the yield per acre, has been at least seven tons of 
cured fodder. It is called good grass that yields 
a ton and a half to the acre, and much does less. The 
only trouble about the corn fodder is, that it needs a 
great deal of curing. It is so green it will heat and 
spoil unless it is thoroughly dried. After trying several 
'ways, I now bind it in small bundles as soon as cut— 
shock it right on the ground, and let the shocks stand six 
or eight weeks in this way, when it is so dry that it may 
be packed in a mow, and except the outside, is perfect¬ 
ly bright and free from must. The outside is blackened 
a little, but none of it is wasted. H. Ohio, Dec.. 1846. 
Virginia Sheep Pastures. —In the year 1845. I 
stated in the Cultivator, that the mountains of Amherst 
must be equal to any portion of the earth for grazing 
sheep; and-yet, the more I see and reflect, the more I 
insist on it. In the month of November last, I had 
two gentlemen to visit me from Washington Co., Penn., 
both of whom own large flocks of fine sheep, and on 
examination, they declared that the*Cold Mountain is at 
least equal to any grazing lands they ever saw. One 
of those gentlemen, with two others, has now returned 
to Amherst, in search of lands, and say if they can 
purchase farming lands in the county, then they will 
buy the mountains for grazing. 
Since the above mentioned publication in the Cultiva¬ 
tor, I have received sundry letters of inquiry as to those 
lands, and now make a general answer. 
A considerable portion of those lands cannot well be 
richer; and when cleared, a luxuriant growth of green¬ 
sward and white clover takes full possession, and fur¬ 
nishes pasturage from March till January. I say this 
grass takes full possession, because nothing of the brier, 
shrub, or thistle kind, or any other pess, is found on 
those mountains where they are grazed. Indeed, in 
many places, acres of greensward are seen where fires 
have killed the trees and bushes, and where, perhaps, 
they will never grow again. The tops of those moun¬ 
tain* are certainly best for sheep, and here nor near 
their summits, neither Indian corn, tobacco, nor wheat, 
can be grown. Of course, I here speak of our highest 
mountains, for we have hills and mountains of every 
grade usual in Virginia. Rich and handsome moun¬ 
tain land can be bought for$l the acre—rich and rough, 
at about 50 cents—poor, from 10 to 50 cents per acre. 
It is useless to answer about roads and schools, fur¬ 
ther than the remark, that we are an enlightened peo¬ 
ple. Come and see. 
Lands lying well in the heart of the country, and 
improved, can be purchased for from two to eight dol¬ 
lars, and these adapted to all the valuable products ul 
the country. 
